The need for people to live in peace is fundamental. During last week, some civil society organisations in the country, notably the West Africa Network for Peace Building, Youth Ambassadors of Peace and West African Network of Journalists for Peace Building, joined the rest of the world in celebrating International Day of Peace. 

The celebration was meant to encourage individuals, organisations and nations to undertake practical acts of peace and reinforce the ideals of peace. The day is also a global call for ceasefire and non-violence.

Peace we must emphasise is a perquisite for any meaningful development. 

We are also in support of the Interior Minister, Honourable Ousman when he said that peace is everyone’s business. We firmly believe that where there is peace there is hope and life. It’s very important to live in peace.

 Peace and security are ingredients for positive development. Therefore, it is the responsibility of all Gambians and non-Gambians alike residing in the country to maintain peace in the country.

To do so, we must maintain the culture of tolerance and respect each other, irrespective of status, tribe and political affiliation. We must always put at the back of our minds that as Gambians we have no other land, except The Gambia.

It’s our collective responsibility to ensure that the country is safe and free from all forms of social devices. It is important that we should all serve as police offices of our own, thus work hand-in-hand with the police to put an end to all menaces such as rape, murder, road accidents, just to name a few. With these collective efforts we can make The Gambia a haven for mankind. Something must be done to address this situation before things get out of control.

With this aggressive vigilance, we can be assured of a peaceful and secured environment.

According to Madam Pamela Cole of WANEP, peace is not only an absence of armed conflict, but also access to resources and basic social services.

Madam Cole indeed has a point. For instance, a man whose house is being inundated with flood is not at peace.

We must also remember that peace is cheap, while the repercussion for the opposite is very expensive.

For war-torn countries, we encourage them to try the opposite. There is nothing like peace. And where there is a will there can be peace.